FAR 47.202—Presolicitation planning.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 47.202 tells contracting officers to give advance notice to the activities that are planning transportation or transportation-related acquisitions about the lead-time they may need before issuing a solicitation or starting negotiations. The section covers three specific planning items: first, the need to obtain a Service Contract Labor Standards (SCLS) wage determination before issuing an invitation for bids, request for proposals, or beginning negotiations for any covered contract over $2,500; second, the possible need to build time into the solicitation period for prospective offerors or contractors to inspect origin and destination locations; and third, the possible need for agency personnel to inspect prospective contractor facilities and equipment. Its purpose is to prevent schedule delays, incomplete solicitations, and avoidable procurement errors by making sure transportation acquisitions are planned early enough to satisfy labor standards and operational inspection needs. In practice, this means contracting officers must coordinate early with requiring activities so they can identify whether the acquisition may trigger wage-determination steps, site visits, or facility inspections and then allow enough time in the acquisition schedule to complete those actions before award.
Key Rules
Provide lead-time notice
Contracting officers must inform the requiring activity of the lead-time requirements that may apply to transportation or transportation-related service acquisitions. The point is to ensure planning starts early enough to support solicitation development and award without avoidable delay.
Obtain wage determinations early
If the contract may be subject to the Service Contract Labor Standards statute and exceeds $2,500, the wage determination must be obtained before issuing an IFB, RFP, or beginning negotiations. The regulation points to using the Wage Determinations at SAM.gov process or the e98 process to request the determination from the Department of Labor.
Allow inspection time for offerors
The solicitation period may need to include time for prospective offerors or contractors to inspect origin and destination locations. This is a planning consideration that can affect the length of the solicitation period and the realism of proposals or bids.
Allow agency facility inspections
The acquisition schedule may also need time for agency personnel to inspect prospective contractor facilities and equipment. This helps the agency evaluate whether the contractor can perform the transportation requirement as proposed.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Identify whether the acquisition involves transportation or transportation-related services and notify the requiring activity of applicable lead-time needs. The contracting officer must also ensure any required SCLS wage determination is obtained before issuing the solicitation or starting negotiations, and must plan for any needed inspections or site visits.
Requiring Activity / Program Office
Plan the acquisition with enough advance time to accommodate wage-determination processing, location inspections, and possible agency inspections of contractor facilities and equipment. The activity should coordinate early with the contracting officer so the procurement schedule reflects these requirements.
Prospective Offerors / Contractors
Be prepared to use the solicitation period to inspect origin and destination locations when allowed or required. If the agency schedules facility or equipment inspections, contractors must make their facilities and equipment available for review as part of the acquisition process.
Agency Personnel
Conduct inspections of prospective contractor facilities and equipment when the acquisition plan calls for them. These inspections should be completed in time to support source selection or award decisions.
Department of Labor / Wage Determinations at SAM.gov process
Provide or support the wage determination process used to determine applicable labor standards coverage for covered service contracts. The agency must request or obtain the determination through the prescribed process before solicitation or negotiations begin when the statute applies.
Practical Implications
This section is mainly a scheduling rule: if the team waits until the last minute, the solicitation can be delayed because wage determinations, site inspections, or facility inspections were not built into the plan.
A common pitfall is forgetting that the SCLS wage determination must be in hand before issuing the IFB/RFP or starting negotiations for a covered contract over $2,500; missing this step can create compliance problems and require rework.
For transportation buys, offerors may need time to inspect origin and destination points to price the work accurately, so short solicitation periods can lead to unrealistic bids or protests over inadequate competition.
Agency inspections of contractor facilities and equipment should be planned early enough to avoid disrupting evaluation timelines or award dates.
The practical takeaway is to coordinate early among the contracting officer, program office, and any labor standards or technical staff so the acquisition schedule reflects all pre-solicitation tasks before the solicitation is released.
Official Regulatory Text
Contracting officers shall inform activities that plan to acquire transportation or transportation-related services of the applicable lead-time requirements, that is- (a) The Service Contract Labor Standards statute requirement to obtain a wage determination by accessing the Wage Determinations at SAM.gov website ( https://www.sam.gov ) using the Wage Determinations at SAM.gov process or by submitting a request directly to the Department of Labor on this website using the e98 process before the issuance of an invitation for bid, request for proposal, or commencement of negotiations for any contract exceeding $2,500 that may be subject to the Service Contract Labor Standards statute (see subpart 22.10 ); (b) The possible requirement to provide, during the solicitation period, time for prospective offerors or contractors to inspect origin and destination locations; or (c) The possible requirement for inspection by agency personnel of prospective contractor facilities and equipment.